Uyghur GeneralKhojis (d. 1781), bey of Turfan, who later settled in Beijing; painting by a European Jesuit artist at the Chinese court in 1775[1]
Bey,[a] also spelled asBaig,Bayg,Beigh,Beig,Bek,Baeg, Begh, orBeg, is aTurkic title for achieftain, and a royal,aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in the numerous Turkic kingdoms, emirates, sultanates and empires inCentral Asia,South Asia,Southeast Europe, and theMiddle East, such as theOttomans,Timurids or the variouskhanates andemirates inCentral Asia and theEurasian Steppe. The feminine equivalent title wasbegum. The regions or provinces where "beys" ruled or which they administered were calledbeylik, roughly meaning "governorate" or "region" (the equivalent of acounty,duchy,grand duchy orprincipality in Europe, depending on the size and importance of thebeylik). However the exact scope of power handed to the beys varied with each country, thus there was no clear-cut system, rigidly applied to all countries defining all the possible power and prestige that came along with the title.
Today, the word is still used formally as a social title for men, similar to the way the titles "sir" and "mister" are used in the English language. Additionally, it is widely used in the naming customs ofCentral Asia, namely in countries such asUzbekistan,Kazakhstan andKyrgyzstan. Notably, the ethnic designation ofUzbeks comes from the name ofÖz Beg Khan of theGolden Horde, being an example of the usage of this word in personal names and even names of whole ethnic groups. The general rule is that the honorific is used with first names and not with surnames or last names.
The word entered English fromTurkishbey,[2]. ItsOld Turkic cognatebeg,[3] which – in the formbäg – has been mentioned as early as in the 8th century ADOrkhon inscriptions and is usually translated as "tribal leader".[4][5] The actual origin of the word is still disputed, though it is mostly agreed that it was a loan-word,[4] in Old Turkic.[6] This Turkic word is usually considered a borrowing from an Iranian language.[7][5] However, German TurkologistGerhard Doerfer assessed the derivation from Iranian as superficially attractive but quite uncertain,[5] and pointed out the possibility that the word may be genuinelyTurkic.[4] Two principal etymologies have been proposed by scholars:
theMiddle Persian titlebag (alsobaγ orβaγ,[5]Old Iranianbaga; cf.Sanskrit भग /bhaga) meaning "lord" and "master".[5]Peter Golden derives the word viaSogdianbġy from the sameIranian root.[4][8] AllMiddle Iranian languages retain forms derived frombaga- in the sense "god": Middle Persianbay (plur.bayān,baʾān),Parthianbaγ,Bactrianbago, Sogdianβγ-,[5] and were used as honorific titles of kings and other men of high rank in the meaning of "lord".[5][9] The Iranianbāy (through connection with Old Indian nounbhāgá "possessions, lot"[10][5]) gave the now-obsolete Turkish wordbay (rich); compare MongolianBayan.[5][7]
It was also used by theUyghurs. It permitted theTurkic Begs in theAltishahr region to maintain their previous status, and they administered the area for theQing as officials.[11][12][13][14] High-ranking Begs were allowed to call themselves Begs.[15]
Lucy Mary Jane Garnett wrote in the 1904 workTurkish Life in Town and Country that "distinguished persons and their sons" as well as "high government officials" could becomebey, which was one of two "merely conventional designations as indefinite as our 'Esquire' has come to be [in the United Kingdom]".[16]
The Republican Turkish authorities abolished the title circa the 1930s.[17]
However, it is important to note that the titleBey,Baig orBegum,Begzada andUç Bey are regarded as comparable to the European nobility with the title ofViscount, whileSancak-beys andAtabegs are considered to be of an equivalent rank toearls orcounts in the context of European nobility.[18][19]
The titlebey (Arabic:بيهEgyptian Arabic pronunciation:[beː]) was also calledbeyk orbek (بيك) – from Turkishbeyg (بيـگ) – in North Africa, including Egypt.[20][21][22]A bey could maintain a similar office within Arab states that broke away from theHigh Porte, such asEgypt andSudan under theMuhammad Ali Dynasty, where it was a rank belowpasha (maintained in two rank classes after 1922), and a title of courtesy for a pasha's son.
Even much earlier, the virtual sovereign's title in Barbaresque North African 'regency' states was "Bey" (compareDey). Notably inTunis,[23] theHusainid Dynasty used a whole series of title and styles including Bey:
JustBey itself was part of the territorial title of the ruler, and also as a title used by all male members of the family (rather like Sultan in the Ottoman dynasty).
Bey al-Kursi "Bey of the Throne", a term equivalent to reigning prince.
Bey al-Mahalla "Bey of the Camp", title used for the next most senior member of the Beylical family after the reigning Bey, the Heir Apparent to the throne.
Bey al-Taula "Bey of the Table", the title of the Heir Presumptive, the eldest prince of the Beylical family, who enjoyed precedence immediately after the Bey al-Mahalla.
Beylerbeyi (or Beglerbegi) "Lord of Lords", was the administrative rank formally enjoyed by the ruler of Algiers and by rulers of parts of the Balkans in their official capacity of Ottoman Governor-General within the Turkish empire.This title was also used in Safavid empire.
Bey was also the title that was awarded by the Ottoman Sultan in the twilight of the Ottoman Empire toOloyeMohammed Shitta, an African merchant prince of theYoruba people who served as a senior leader of the Muslim community in the kingdom ofLagos. Subsequently, he and his children became known inNigeria by thedouble-barrelled surnameShitta-Bey, a tradition which has survived to the present day through their lineal descendants.
Bey or a variation has also been used as an aristocratic title in various Turkic states, such asBäk in theTatarKhanate of Kazan, in charge of a Beylik calledBäklek. TheUzbekKhanate of Khiva,Emirate of Bukhara and TheKhanate of Kokand used the "beks" as local administrations of "bekliks" or provinces. TheBalkar princes in theNorth Caucasus highlands were known astaubiy (taubey), meaning the "mountainous chief".
Sometimes a Bey was a territorial vassal within a khanate, as in each of the threezuzes under theKhan of the Kazakhs.
The variationBeg,Baig orBai, is still used as a family name or a part of a name in South and Central Asia as well as theBalkans. InSlavic-influenced names, it can be seen in conjunction with the Slavic-ov/-ović/ev suffixes meaning "son of", such as inBakir andAlija Izetbegović, andAbai Kunanbaev.
Bey is also used colloquially inUrdu-speaking parts ofIndia, and its usage is similar to "chap" or "man". When used aggressively, it is an offensive term.
TheHungarian wordbő originates from an Old Turkic loanword, cognate with Ottoman 'bey', that used to mean 'clan leader' in Old Hungarian. Later, as an adjective, it acquired the meaning of "rich". Its contemporary meaning is "ample" or "baggy" (when referring to clothing).[24]
In the ArmenianMelikdoms of Karabakh, the younger brothers and sons of themeliks (local rulers) were addressed asbek, which was placed after their given names.[25]
^abAlemko Gluhak (1993),Hrvatski etimološki rječnik, August Cesarec: Zagreb, pp. 123–124
^P. Golden, "Turks and Iranians: An historical sketch", in S. Agcagül/V. Karam/L. Johanson/C. Bulut,Turkic-Iranian Contact Areas: Historical and Linguistic Aspects, Harrassowit, 2006, p. 19ff
^Shaw, Stanford J. and Ezel Kural Shaw.History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey (Volume II).Cambridge University Press, 27 May 1977.ISBN0521291666, 9780521291668. p.386.
^Jomard, Edme-François (1826).Description de l'Egypte (in French). C. L. F. Panckoucke. p. 475.Le motsangiaq est un nom de dignité, synonyme de celui debey (beykبيك, ou, suivant l'orthographe de la prononciation turques,beygبيـگ). Summary:sanjaq-bey ≈ bey = beyk = beyg.
^Journal asiatique (in French). 1854. p. 484.Le titre debegبيـگ (prononcébey) ou bekبيى, qui, en Barbie est écrit et prononcébâïبك est proprement un mot turc.
%2c_governor_of_Turfan%2c_who_later_settled_in_Beijing._Painting_by_a_European_Jesuit_artist_at_the_Chinese_court_in_1775.png)
.svg)
